Timeline

April 18, 1976
Born April 18, 1976 in Smithtown, Long Island

1989-1990
As the youngest member of New York’s Circle Repertory Lab Company, appeared in Beside Herself in 1989 and Imagining Brad in 1990

1991
Was the understudy for the three children in The Crucible on Broadway in 1991

1991-1994
Starred in Clarissa Explains it All from 1991 to 1994

January 1994
Started to attend NYU via correspondence courses in January, 1994

1996-2003
Played Sabrina Spellman on Sabrina the Teenage Witch from 1996 to 2003

1999
Starred as Nicole Maris in Drive Me Crazy in 1999

July 19, 2003
Married guitarist of the band Course of Nature, Mark Wilkerson, on July 19, 2003

2005
Is currently filming Jack Satin.

Hart, the oldest of seven, was born on April 18, 1976 in Smithtown, Long Island to Paula and William Hart (now divorced). Her mother has been her agent since the beginning. Hart landed her first role at the age of four with a commercial for a bath toy called “Splashy.”

Although Hart is most known for her work in television, she has had quite a career in the theatre. As the youngest member of New York’s Circle Repertory Lab Company, she appeared in Beside Herself (with William Hurt) in 1989 and Imagining Brad in 1990. In 1991, she made her Broadway debut as an understudy in the National Actors Theatre production of The Crucible starring Martin Sheen.

Hart's big break came in 1991 when she landed the role of Clarissa on Clarissa Explains it All. The show was about teenager Clarrisa Darling’s life, as told by her. The format of this show, a teenager talking to the camera about her life, would pave the way for future series like Lizzie McGuire. The show lasted until 1994. In 1995, there was to be a follow up series, Clarissa, in which Clarissa became an intern at a New York paper. The series was cancelled and turned into a television special for Nickelodeon.

In 1996, Hart got her second big role in the made for TV movie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The movie was turned into a television series by the same name. Hart played Sabrina Spellman, a teenager who discovers on her sixteenth birthday that she is a witch. In real life Hart was 22. The series lasted until 2003, chronicling Sabrina’s high school and college life.

Hart continued to play teenagers in movies such as Can’t Hardly Wait in 1998 and Drive Me Crazy in 1999. In 2001 she proved she had the sense of humor to make fun of herself and teen movies by appearing in Not Another Teen Movie.

Hart may look sweet and innocent, but she is also business savvy. She runs a production company with her mother called Hartbreak films. She has also moved behind the cameras by directing episodes of Taina and So Weird. Not only has she done theatre, movies, and television, but she has also lent her voice to animated series and computer games and has appeared on two albums, "This is What Na Na Means" in 1994 and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" in 1998.

Lately, Melissa Joan Hart has kept a relatively low profile, although her marriage to musician Mark Wilkerson on July 19, 2003 was televised. Her most recent films, such as Hold On and Rent Control have not been heavily publicized. Her next project will be Jack Satin, due in theatres later this year.

It’s hard to predict what will come next for Hart, because she is such a multi-faceted actress and person. This collector of Shirley Temple and Audrey Hepburn memorabilia also has a tattoo and a belly button ring. She stars on Nickelodeon shows, but has also done a photo shoot in her underwear and is not opposed to posing for Playboy. Whether it’s behind or in front of the cameras, I’m sure Melissa Joan Hart still has a few more surprises for us. Her career is just getting started.

- Linda Buchwald, Managing Editor